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NY Obamacare Insurers Seeking Double-Digit Premium Increases

Blame costly Obamacare requirements, taxes and fees

The administration’s already-broken promise to lower the cost of insurance premiums just took another hit. Citing the Affordable Care Act’s costly requirements, insurers participating in New York’s Obamacare exchange are now seeking an average of a 12-percent increase in premiums for 2015, with a number of major providers requesting nearly 20 percent hikes.

Health Republic Insurance of New York, the largest provider, with more than 68,000 members, has requested a 15.2 percent hike for individual plans. Excellus Health Plan, serving more than 24,000 customers, is requesting a 19.7 percent adjustment, while the even bigger MVP Health Plan (33,000 customers) is asking for a 19 percent increase.

Some smaller plans have asked for lesser increases, and a few have even put in for decreases, but The NY Post calculated that the average requested hike for the state's exchanges is currently 12 percent.

Many of the insurers have made clear to their customers the reason for the dramatic premium increases: Obamacare requirements, taxes and fees.